Episode Nine - Council Wrap Up (3/5/26) and Reflections

This week’s episode walks through the Wilmington City Council workshop and regular meeting held on March 5, along with a Planning Commission discussion earlier in the week that focused on the growing debate around data centers in Wilmington.

The workshop included discussion of the Clinton County Hazard Mitigation Plan, downtown parking sign proposals, the city’s natural gas aggregation program, engineering funding tied to the landfill bridge project, and the purchase of a hydro excavator truck for utility work.

Council later moved through several pieces of legislation during the regular meeting, including adoption of the county’s hazard mitigation plan, renewal of the city’s natural gas aggregation program, and legislation related to the landfill bridge project.

The episode also looks at a Planning Commission conversation about whether data centers should remain a permitted use in the zoning code or move to a conditional use review process. That discussion revealed how easily different policy questions can become tangled together when projects already in review are discussed alongside future zoning policy.

Finally, the episode closes with a reflection on why conversations about major development issues need to happen openly across the city’s public decision-making bodies, not just when a vote appears on an agenda.

If you follow Wilmington city government, zoning policy, or local development issues, this episode provides a clear breakdown of what happened this week and why it matters.

Show Notes

Wilmington City Council Meeting

March 5, 2026

Key topics discussed:

• Clinton County Hazard Mitigation Plan adoption

• Downtown parking sign proposals

• Natural gas aggregation program renewal

• Hydro excavator truck purchase for utilities

• David’s Drive project update

• Landfill bridge project and bid authorization

• Development updates from the mayor’s report

• Planning Commission discussion on data center zoning policy

Next Wilmington City Council Meeting

Thursday, March 19

Wilmington Weekly is a podcast focused on explaining how local government decisions are made and how those decisions shape the future of Wilmington.

Transcript

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Welcome back to Wilmington Weekly. I'm Matt Perke. Each week on this podcast, I walk through what happened in Wilmington's public meetings and explain the policies and procedures behind the decisions being made. The goal of this show is simple. I want people to understand how local government actually works. Sometimes it means explaining legislation. Sometimes it means breaking down zoning rules or infrastructure projects. And sometimes it simply means slowing down and untangling conversations that can get complicated very quickly. This week included a city council workshop, the regular council meeting, and earlier in the week a planning commission discussion that revealed just how complicated the data center issue has become in Wilmington. One thing that becomes clear if you follow these meetings regularly is that the order of events matters. The workshop usually happens first, and that's where the most of the discussion takes place. The regular council meeting comes afterward where legislation is formally read and votes are recorded. So tonight we'll walk through the evening the same way it actually unfolded. Let's start with the workshop. The workshop began with a presentation from Tom Breckel, director of the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency. Breckel explained the Clinton County Hazard Mitigation Plan, which council later adopted during the regular meeting. The plan is extensive, over 1,100 pages, and includes surveys, historical data, hazard assessments, identifying risks across the county. Its primary purpose is administrative. Federal law requires communities to adopt an approved hazard mitigation plan in order to remain eligible for certain FEMA mitigation grants. Without an approved plan in place, local governments can lose access to federal funding that helps pay for projects designed to reduce damage from disasters. Breckel emphasized that adopting the plan does not commit the city to specific projects. The plan identifies potential risks and mitigation strategies, but any actual project would still require separate council approval. Timing was also a factor. The current mitigation plan expires this month, and if a new plan were not adopted before that expiration date, the city could temporarily lose eligibility for mitigation funding if a disaster occurred during that gap. Because of that timeline, council moved the resolution forward quickly. The city clerk also noted that the full mitigation plan was included in the public meeting packet for anyone who wants to review all 1,100 pages. The next discussion involved downtown parking signs. Council President Osborne had asked that two versions of legislation be prepared for council to consider based off of the presentation at the prior workshop. The first reflects a proposal from Trevor Shoemaker, Director of Main Street Wilmington, who has been working with downtown businesses. His proposal would remove all hourly parking signs in the downtown district in order to reduce visual clutter and improve the appearance of the streetscape. The second version is a sort of compromise proposal that Service Director Crow put together. Instead of removing time limits entirely, Crow suggested consolidating signage so that one sign could cover an entire block rather than having multiple two-hour or four hour signs spaced throughout the street. The idea behind that approach is to reduce the number of signs while still maintaining existing parking limits. There was discussion about the two proposals. However, it became clear that council favored Crow's proposal, and Schumacher added that he would be comfortable with that as well. One thing that stood out during the conversation is that some of the discussion seemed to miss how the enforcement actually works. Downtown parking enforcement is currently complaint-driven only, not something the city actively monitors throughout the day. And most downtown events that were discussed take place outside of normal business hours when parking limits typically wouldn't affect those events anyway. The ordinance received its first reading in the regular council meeting and will return for further consideration. The workshop also included discussion about the city's natural gas aggregation program. Aggregation allows Wilmington to combine residential gas customers into a single purchasing group in order to negotiate bulk energy rates. Residents are automatically enrolled, but may opt out at any time. The current agreement expires in October of 2026. Buckeye Energy Brokers, which advises the city on energy purchasing, recommended moving forward with a renewal soon because forecasts suggest natural gas prices may increase and fluctuate daily. The actual gas rate will not be determined until the day the contract is signed when the market price is locked in. The proposal discussed this week would extend the program for two additional years, and council later approved the resolution. Service Director Mike Crow also discussed engineering costs related to the landfill bridge project. Engineering work tied to the bridge will consume most of the landfill's engineering budget for the year, which is why Council approved supplemental appropriations so other engineering work can still proceed as planned. Crow also discussed purchasing a hydro excavator truck, which costs about $350,000. Hydro excavation uses pressurized water and vacuum equipment to safely expose underground utilities without damaging buried infrastructure. Auditor advance indicated that purchasing the equipment outright could make more sense than borrowing. Utilities like water, wastewater, and solid waste operate as enterprise funds, meaning those operations are supported by the fees paid by the residents who use the services. Last year, during council discussions about the future of the city's recycling program, replacing the recycling truck was estimated to cost around $400,000, and much of that conversation focused on whether the program could support that expense and whether rates might need to increase. The hydroexcavator truck discussed this week serves a different operation, but it's in a similar price range, and council moved forward with the purchase with the expectation that it would be paid for out of the appropriate enterprise fund. Further discussion about landfill operations and equipment is expected during the Public Works Committee, which is scheduled for March 9th. And given the earlier conversations about the future of the city's recycling program, that broader topic may well return at some point. Crow also provided an update on the David's Drive Project, which serves the industrial corridor on the east side of the city. During the discussion, he noted that residential street paving across the city has fallen behind, and allowing David's Drive Project to be broken up into smaller pieces will allow resources to be redirected to address those needs. Crow also indicated that the city is seeking grant funding to help pay for the remaining phases of the David's Drive Project. Council later approved a resolution supporting the next phase of the project. The workshop also included discussion about the landfill bridge over Lytle Creek. Crow explained that materials for the bridge must be ordered by May due to longer fabrication lead times. Because of that timeline, Council moved forward with legislation authorizing the project so the city can begin the bidding process. Once authorized, the city will advertise for bids, receive and open those bids publicly, and award the contract to the lowest and best bidder before construction can move forward. After the workshop concluded, council moved into the regular council meeting. In Wilmington, workshops are where most of the discussion happens. I keep saying that, but the council meeting itself really is largely procedural and where the legislation is formally read and votes are recorded. The meeting began with roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance. President Osborne asked for a moment of silence following a tragic house fire in the community earlier this week. Council then approved the meeting agenda and minutes, and there was no public comment. No one had signed up to speak. Mayor Haley then gave several updates on development projects around the city. He mentioned Prairie Oaks Village, which will include 57 affordable senior housing units and St. Anne Place over on West Locust Street, which is planned for 65 units for older residents. He also said that Cape May plans to expand with eight additional villa style homes. At the Kettering Health campus, the project that began with physicians' offices is expected to expand to include an emergency department and inpatient rooms. He also noted that TriHealth, the former Clinton Memorial Hospital site, continues to expand services. Commercial updates included Waffle House, TJ Maxx, and continued questions about the timeline for Duncan. He also noted that Wawa is continuing site work on its future location. There was also a question about development at state routes 380 and 72. That location is outside of city limits, but the project has been discussed publicly at Regional Planning Commission, and the current plan calls for a quick trip on the northeast corner and a second Wawa location on the southeast corner. There was also a brief public safety update. Safety Director Eveland and members of the police department highlighted the department's recent LEEDS certification. As part of that review, access to the dispatch center will be restricted to police personnel and administrative staff. Eveland also discussed the city's flock license plate cameras, which the department says are helping with investigations. Council then moved into legislation. Under old business, council took up the second reading of Resolution 2608, which authorized the mayor or a designee to enter into the real estate purchase agreement for property on the city's east side. That's East End School. That resolution passed without discussion. Council then moved into new business. First was Resolution 2611, approving the city's adoption of the Clinton County Hazard Mitigation Plan, which council had discussed earlier. The resolution received three readings and passed seven to zero. The next resolution was R 2612, authorizing the mayor to enter into the agreement with IGS Energy for the city's natural gas aggregation program. That resolution also received three readings and passed unanimously. Council then held the first reading of Ordinance O twenty six fourteen, which would consolidate certain time limited parking. Based upon the workshop discussion, this was option two. And that ordinance will return for additional readings at future meetings. Finance Committee considered ordinance twenty six thirteen making supplemental appropriations and resolution twenty-six thirteen expressing support for the Davis Drive Phase 4 project. Both items move forward without discussion. Finally, Council approved resolution R 2609 authorizing the city to advertise for and accept bids for materials needed for the landfill bridge over Lytle Creek at the Wilmington Sanitary Landfill. That resolution received three readings and passed. There was also a first reading on Resolution 2610, which will later authorize the city to accept bids for construction of the bridge itself once the material portion of the project is underway. There were no formal committee reports during the meeting. Councilmember Tolliver did note that a public meeting for the Enterprise Funds Committee will be held on March 9th at 5.30 p.m. to discuss issues related to recycling and water fluoridation. At the end of the meeting, Council entered into executive session under ORC Section 121.22G1 to discuss matters related to a public employee or official. Council did not return to open session to take any action. Earlier in the week, the Planning Commission had a conversation that revealed just how complicated the data center issue had become in Wilmington. The proposal before the commission was whether data centers should remain a permitted use in the current zoning code or be changed to a conditional use. And that difference actually matters quite a bit. A permitted use means that if a project meets the zoning requirements, it's allowed. The review process focuses on technical issues like site layout, traffic circulation, stormwater management, and engineering details. A conditional use adds another step. The use is still allowed in that zoning district, but it must go through an additional hearing where the city can evaluate potential impacts before approving the project. Conditional use does not prohibit a development, it simply creates a process where the city can evaluate the specifics of each proposal. During the meeting, the discussion quickly became tangled because several commissioners kept referring to the AWS data center, project currently under site plan review at Planning Commission. Those are two separate issues. The AWS project entered the review process under the existing code. When a project begins in that process, it generally continues under the rules that exist at that time. The concept is often referred to as vested rights or grandfathering. Changing the zoning code now would typically apply to future projects, not the one already moving through the approval process. The deputy law director attempted several times to steer the conversation back toward the zoning policy question rather than the AWS site plan review. Several commissioners raised concerns that conditional use decisions require specific conditions to be spelled out ahead of time. There were also questions about which body would handle those reviews. In Wilmington, conditional use decisions typically go to the Board of Zoning Appeals. There was a discussion for keeping it at Planning Commission. Another argument raised during the meeting was that state or federal governments may soon establish regulations for data centers, and that the city should consider waiting before making local changes. That line of thinking actually points toward another option sometimes used by municipalities when a regulatory landscape is evolving. Cities often adopt a temporary moratorium on certain types of development while they study an issue and update zoning regulations accordingly. A moratorium is not a ban, it simply pauses approvals for a defined period so the city can establish clear rules. No one formally proposed a moratorium during the meeting, but the logic behind waiting for additional guidance points in that direction. But that discussion never really happened during the meeting because the conversation kept circling back to the AWS project itself. Another phrase that came up more than once was the idea that the city should not pick winners and losers. That phrase is commonly used in economic development discussions, but it doesn't really apply to zoning decisions. Zoning is not about choosing which company gets approved. It's about determining what types of uses are appropriate in certain locations and how those uses should be reviewed. Data centers are not a single uniform type of development. Some are relatively small facilities serving regional needs. Others are enormous campuses that require major electrical infrastructure, large buildings, and significant water cooling systems. Because of that range, many cities treat them as conditional use so each proposal can be evaluated on its own merits. The Planning Commission ultimately voted to table this issue, meaning they postponed making a recommendation to council. That decision does not resolve the underlying question. It simply means the discussion will return at a later meeting. And that's where the meeting took an interesting turn. Immediately after tabling the data center question, the commission moved to the final agenda item of the night, which involved a completely different zoning change. This one addressed adult family homes and small residential care facilities located in residential neighborhoods. Service Director Mike Crow explained the reasoning behind the proposal. He said that when someone purchases a home in a residential neighborhood, the expectation is that the property will be used as a residence. But when a house is used for something different, even if the use is still residential in nature, it can affect the surrounding neighborhood. As Crow explained in the meeting, if you aren't buying a house in a residential area to raise a family in that house, you're planning any other use that could affect parking, that could affect traffic, that could affect police and fire, just quality of life, it needs to be a conditional use. The idea behind that statement is straightforward. If a use could affect the surrounding neighborhood in ways that are different from a typical residence, the city should have an opportunity to review the proposal before approving it. That is exactly what conditional use zoning is designed to do. The Planning Commission accepted that reasoning and voted unanimously to recommend the change. There were no questions about which specific condition would need to be written. There were no questions about which board would conduct the review. The commission simply agreed that if the use could have impacts on the surrounding neighborhood, it should go through the conditional use process. And that vote happened immediately after the commission tabled the conversation about whether data centers should be treated the same way. That contrast highlights just how complicated and sensitive the data center discussion has become. And it also illustrates an important point about zoning discussions. Sometimes the hardest part of these conversations is simply keeping the different questions separated. The AWS project is one conversation. The zoning rules that would apply to future data centers are another conversation. And the broader question of how Wilmington wants to handle large-scale industrial development moving forward is yet another layer entirely. When those questions get mixed together, meetings become confusing. When they stay in their proper lanes, the policy questions become so much easier to understand, and based on the discussion this week, the question of how Wilmington handles data centers is clearly not finished yet. The one thing that really stood out this week is just how easy it is for different conversations to get tangled together in public meetings. The AWS project, conditional or permitted use, data centers themselves, just all three different policy questions, but operating on three different timelines. And in Planning Commission those just kept bleeding into each other. Questions about the AWS project were raised while the Commission was supposed to be discussing zoning policy. Concerns about future regulations were raised while the city was considering how its own zoning should work today. And when those layers get mixed, meetings are confusing. But when those questions stay in their proper lanes, the policy choices become much clearer. And that's really the purpose of public meetings in the first place. They exist so these conversations can happen in the open. So council members, commission members, and residents can hear the reasoning behind decisions and understand how the policies are being shaped. And one other thing stood out this week. Earlier in the week, the Planning Commission spent a significant amount of time wrestling with the data center issue. A few days later, the council met, and that discussion never surfaced. For a topic this important, it's hard not to notice that disconnect. Council meetings and Planning Commission meetings obviously serve different roles, but they're part of the same decision-making process. The conversations happening in those rooms shouldn't exist in isolation from each other. When major policy questions are being worked through, especially ones that could shape the city's development for decades, it's important that those discussions happen across the full decision making structure, not just within one board or one commission. Because when the conversation stays siloed, it becomes harder for residents to see everything fitting together. And it becomes harder for the city to To work through those issues in a way that feels coordinated, transparent, and thoughtful. Which is why these discussions need to be happening in public meetings. Not just when a vote appears on the agenda, but while the ideas themselves are still being worked through. Because these decisions shape how Wilmington grows, how neighborhoods change, and how the city handles the next wave of development. Because when those conversations happen openly, everyone can see, actually see how the decisions shaping Wilmington's future are being made. And when they don't, people are left trying to piece the story together themselves, sometimes while the debate has already moved outside the meeting room. That's the week in Wilmington. The next meeting is Thursday, March nineteenth. Thanks for listening. I'll see you then.